The truth about the 1986 People Power revolution

It’s that time of the year again. February is always a big month for Filipinos. Two weeks after celebrating Valentines Day, Filipinos hold another annual celebration that is uniquely their own. On the 25th of February of each year, die-hard Aquino supporters have their annual song and dance routine usually complete with a live musical variety show near the Edsa shrine to commemorate the anniversary of the so-called “People Power” Edsa revolution.

The free entertainment is held to remind the rest of the population of how great it supposedly is for Philippine society to be free of the “dictator” and to have restored “democracy.” And this year, the organizers are promising an event that is “bigger than Ben Hur.” A definite treat for avid Aquino supporters or any one who loves freebies since 2011 marks the 25th anniversary of the “revolution” that toppled former President Ferdinand Marcos.

You can be sure that Aquino supporters will have their grins up to their third molars on the day because the so-called “Aquino legacy” has finally come full circle. After 25 years, who would have thought that President Noynoy Aquino (PNoy), the son of People Power icon former President Cory Aquino would follow in his mother’s footsteps, literally? Almost a year after PNoy’s win in the election, a lot of people still can’t believe it. PNoy was so popular in the lead up to the presidential election owing to his own parents’ popularity that the election might as well have been a “mock” election.

And not even PNoy imagined himself to be in this predicament one day. From his mother’s reluctance to run for the Presidency down to his mother’s incompetence to deliver on her campaign promises, PNoy got his mother’s unique style of “barely there” leadership to a tee.

But what a joy it must be for the rest of the melodramatic Aquino fans who love living in the past at the expense of the poor. Likewise, the oligarchs that benefit from a family member’s stay in Malacanang are basking in the glory coming from a guaranteed grip on the people’s minds for years and years to come. The Filipinos have indeed, given “people power” a new meaning after 25 years. The political opposition should never have underestimated the power of illogical people moving in large groups.

It has been said that the victors get to write history. It has also been said that propagandists get to use history to their advantage. Thanks to the lack of progress in the country, the victors of the so-called “revolution” have been reduced to resorting to propaganda in recent years. Since none of the perpetrators during the Marcos’ years have been put on trial or convicted anyway, the Aquino family and their cronies continue to use media outlets owned and operated by their own family and friends to continue demonizing the Marcos regime. By doing so, the Aquino family likewise continue to come across as martyrs. The victors – the Aquinos — are quite successful applying this approach towards keeping the majority of the population beholden to them even when democracy in the country is alive only in theory.

It is quite a mind-boggling exercise to ponder the question of why most Filipinos have such a screwed up memory of the events that unfolded after Edsa I. Four years after Marcos was ousted, Cory’s administration was highly criticized for its failure to deliver on the much-needed economic reforms and was plagued by allegations of corruption involving Cory’s wealthy and influential relatives — the same allegations they used to topple Marcos in the first place.

[…] But in the tumultuous four years since Aquino became President, charges of incompetence and graft have increasingly tainted her own government. When rebellious soldiers launched the seventh abortive coup against Aquino on Dec. 1, their most pointed complaints focused on the administration’s failure to deliver basic services and on allegations of corruption among the President’s wealthy and influential relatives.

The charges, magnified by the Manila rumor mill, have inflicted serious political damage. While the President herself is considered incorruptible, critics accuse her of turning a blind eye to family and friends who are said to be enriching themselves at the public’s expense.

[…] A frequent target of reports is Aquino’s brother Jose (“Peping”) Cojuangco Jr., a wealthy and powerful congressman. Shortly after Aquino took office, newspaper stories charged that Cojuangco had helped some of his cronies gain control of a lucrative cargo-handling business; he is also suspected of using family ties to get jobs for friends in Manila casinos. Cojuangco has denied any wrongdoing, and neither he nor any other member of the Aquino clan has been charged with a crime.

Yet lack of prosecution means little in a country where the rich and powerful are perceived to be above the law. “It would take a first-class fool to testify against someone like Peping Cojuangco,” explains Blas Ople, executive vice president of the opposition Nacionalista Party and a former Minister of Labor under Marcos.

In one of the few corruption cases the authorities have pursued, Cojuangco’s wife Margarita was suspected of having taken a $1 million bribe from an Australian businessman last year to help him obtain a gambling-casino license.

Lo and behold, the so-called “Aquino legacy” is not as untainted as the Aquino minions would have everyone believe. PNoy’s term is even beginning to look more and more like a carbon copy of his own mother’s term with allegations of nepotism, favoritism, and incompetence plaguing PNoy’s administration. And with PNoy and his celebrity sister, Kris’s images splashed all over the country like propaganda paraphernalia, Marcos’s “personality cult” drive to send subliminal messages just to keep his popularity high is alive and working for the Aquino family.

Once people get a chance to take a closer look at what actually happened during the Marcos regime and the lead up to the revolt, they will realize that the glorious tales surrounding the Edsa revolution is like, as the saying goes, a lie that has attained the dignity of age. If you ask several people what they remember about Marcos or the Edsa revolution, they will give you several versions of what actually occured. But of course, we all know the media plays out only one version — that Marcos was the big bad bogeyman that had to go.

There is no question that Marcos did abuse his power and overstayed in his seat. However, if people do the math, we find that Marcos was actually only a dictator since 1972 when he declared Martial Law, curtailed press freedom, and suppressed other civil liberties. So technically, he was only a dictator for 14 years not the 20 years that people keep harping about. Not a lot of years compared to the 25 years of banal mediocrity that prevailed after Marcos was ousted.

Although he was allegedly corrupt, none of the allegations against him were brought to court. In fact during his early years in the Presidency, Marcos had spent significant amounts on infrastructure projects, which Filipinos are still using today. He also established outstanding diplomatic relations with the international community that earned him respect with the likes of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew and American diplomats.

In retrospect, Filipinos should also give credit to Marcos himself for the success of a peaceful revolution in the country because he made it easy for everybody. The soldiers in 1986 did not fire a single bullet on any of the protesters on Edsa because Marcos and his supporters did not order them to do so. Unlike the leaders in China who ordered the Tiananmen Square massacre or unlike Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his supporters who do not seem inclined to think twice about killing demonstrators on the streets of Tripoli, Marcos did not let the uprising lead to bloodshed.

Instead of prolonging his and everybody else’s agony like the most recent violent street revolution in Egypt, which lasted for almost a month, Marcos bowed down to pressure only after a few days of rallies on the streets of Manila. This fact should say a lot about Marcos and his alleged hunger for power — that it may have been grossly exaggerated.

And before the participants give themselves a pat on the back for the success of the people power revolt, they should consider the fact that it was originally a military coup led by Marcos’s former staff Ramos and Enrile with Gringo Honasan as their sidekick. It has been said that the only reason why the original players called on the people was because Marcos found out about their plan, which left Ramos and Enrile with no option but to resort to going public to gather more support from the people. The people of course, willingly provided the numbers needed to remove Marcos. The several coup attempts during Cory’s term is enough indication that the planned military take over during Marcos’s last days was only just set-aside for another day.

People power revolutions have always been around. It’s not something unique to Filipinos. Filipinos cannot claim ownership over the concept. Who can forget the mob that toppled Marie Antoinette in France in the 18th century? At least that one resulted in the decadent monarch’s beheading. The Philippine revolution though widely regarded as peaceful, bizarrely enough, did not result in the conviction of the alleged corrupt public officials under the Marcos regime. Even more disturbing is that, for all the grandstanding done by the opposition in accusing the past administration for their shortfall, Marcos successors failed to build the strong enough institutions needed to sustain real democracy.

In the lead up to the 25th anniversary of the People Power Edsa revolution and due to the recent violent uprising in the Middle East, there are so many articles that have been written peppered with references to the “success” of our own revolution. Most Filipino writers who are biased for the Aquino family are mostly nostalgic and triumphalist. Their articles just gloss over the failings of the Cory administration and simply recall the “fun” memories of holding hands and the photo ops with the nuns and the military tanks. A few realistic articles point to the lack of economic and social stability in the country as the main focus of comparison to the before and the after of the popular uprising. Logical pundits also cannot help but see the irony of celebrating the anniversary considering the immediate family members of Marcos are now serving as public officials. Ferdinand’s son Bongbong who looks exactly like his dad is now a Senator and will most likely run for the presidency in 2016.

Out of all the dozens of articles with reference to People Power, Hannah Beech summed up the Philippine situation in her essay for TIME magazine:

The withered potential of people power is best examined on its home turf. This month, the Philippines will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the start of its historic uprising. Those following the events in Egypt will find many parallels. Ferdinand Marcos, a corrupt, aging, U.S.-backed dictator, was ousted by a populace that rallied, in part, thanks to technology. (Then it was radio, not Facebook or Twitter.) But a quarter-century later, with the son of people-power heroine Corazon Aquino now serving as President, the Philippines is still beset by the poverty, cronyism and nepotism that provoked the 1986 protests. [Boldface added for emphasis]

Now folks, one can be forgiven for asking the question: what exactly are Filipinos celebrating? Is it the fall of Marcos the dictator or the rise of the Aquino Oligarchy?

They are just wasting everyone’s time and resources. I don’t hear of the people of Berlin celebrating the fall of the Berlin wall every year with too much brouhaha. PNoy and his supporters are so over the top.

They’re good at scheming afterall. I give it to them. With all the bullshit happening at present, what better way is there to divert the public’s attention than to have a lavish celebration of his parents’ so-called contribution to this failed democracy that we call the Philippines.

Blind idolism is common here, as is tolerance for corruption and nepotism. Congratulations to PNoy and his people–not!

The Pilipinos have already forgotten that it was this deceiving MAD Pnoy Saint Cory hacienda luisita self interest who usurped the Presidency of the Philippine Eagle legacy of 22 years of Progressive Philippines 1st World status that reduce it to third world country of pagpag eaters and cemetery dwellers, During Marcos time of Masagana 99 , he has converted the quarter of a million peasants into land owners , while corykot massacred the hacienda luisita farmers in mendiola, they have even the guts to blame Marcos for its yellow mass deception. They robbed the Phillipines wealth in broad daylight, one example is the Mad Pnoy bribed and bacon barrel of senatongs and tongresman too fast to convict with the help of napolist list of money bathtub auditors.

Marcos work so hard to lift-up our nation , put Â the country in the map, but still to these day, yellow brigades still demonizing him. Does the yellow brigade know what had Cory Aquino done to the country? According to the authored book of Mr. Ceclio Arillo, “Greed and Betrayal” Cory Aquino governed like a dictator ,worst than Marcos. Cory Aquino’s spending appetite might have been buried by her propagandist, including most of the media or journalist Â idolaters. Massacred picketers of Hacienda Luisita Farmers 1987 (Marcos never did anything like it) victims, no justice to these days. One Term Cory Aquino spent 1.6 trillion, while Marcos as leader for 20-21 years spent Â 484 billion pesos. Killed journalist under Aquino,34, under Marcos for 20 years, 32. Sickening to learn that she imprisoned those people who gave her the crown, as accidental president. What was the legacy of Cory Aquino? I think she did a big favor to her oligarchs family and friends, spiraled down the Phil. economy and worsened the quality of life of Filipinos, Destroyed the country, Â for now followed through the disciplined of the people in place after Martial law, including Green Revolution, etc.Â

So what was so evil about Marcos? That he wanted pinoys to be proud to have stiff upper lips and learn to have a backbone? Of course the obvious knock on him was he handled the latter years of his politics but even then, Cory certainly didn’t do better.Â

Cory Aquino was a good person but a not-so-good president in that she couldn’t keep her people (this includes friends, relatives, and whoever else) on a leash. I suppose that much is true. But the author should realize: Is s/he not demonizing the Aquinos by pinning the demonization of the Marcoses solely on them?

We must be careful; we must practice what we preach. 25 years have passed since we filled up the streets in EDSA, okay, that’s true–people are still starving in some parts of our country, that’s true as well; how many years did the Aquinos, in total, have in those 25 years? 6.5. We had ten years with a president corrupt as they come, and ruthless as they come.

Moreover, the criticism of Aquino here roots from baseless speculation as well. Perhaps the author should look at what the government has done. This is an argument that my busy schedule disallows me from making, but look at what the public is talking about. The question has become: “What projects do our taxes go to?” when it used to be “Who’s stealing what?”

But I guess there is also a lesson that can be taken away from this article: Let’s not demonize each other, and let’s allow our president to build what he envisions for this country. Yes, a responsible Filipino knows how to criticize, but a responsible Filipino also knows how to listen. Lastly, our president is our president for the next five years, let’s do our best to make the most out of it, else what are we going to do, especially if we have no faith in this country’s revolutions?

You sir, must be residing under a very thick rock, to not see what this administration has been doing in the past months. Breaking his pre-election promise of prioritizing FOIA and RH Bill…And the countless gaffes listed here in Antipinoy! Cmon now!

How can buying a Prosche be speculative? How can his highness Mr President’s finger-pointing habits be speculative? How can his denial of terror threat on national TV be speculative? How can his increase in personal Porkkkkkkk barrel to 68 billion be speculative? You must be speculating that we speculate our speculations!

25 years since “we” filled up EDSA? No sir, not we, maybe “you” but not we.

Please, dont gloss over the gaffes of PNOY. Please lang. With that dreamy yellow eyes of yours, do you want me to give you directions to Edsa Shrine this friday? anak ng teteng o!

Please, permit me to illuminate you on the performance of the incumbent administration. A competent leader is a competent and that is evident in the first 100 days of taking the post. How did he fare?Â

He characterized it with Blunders. Lots and lots of blunders.

What year are we in now? 2011. Yes, it’s yet precocious to determine the success. Yet again, he is expected to deliver what he ought to: the function–imminent and inherent in his position being the head of state.

His ability to make decisions only leads to disaster: first with Hong Kong with the botched hostage-taking crisis. Second with China as we beg for clemency for 3 Filipinas who are themselves guilty as accused. Third with Taiwan. Ironic as it may seem how RP does not want to apologize to Taiwan–not that I imply we should–so as not to put in danger the jobs of more than 70k of OFWs there, but we beg of China’s mercy for three lives.

The porsche? Here’s a link and a quoted quote from the maker of the video:

â€Ž”According to Panerâ€™s video, the purchase is a violation of Section 4h, Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Ethical Standards for Public Officials which says that, “Public officials and employees and their families shall lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income. They shall not indulge in extravagant or ostentatious display of wealth in any form.”

Open your eyes Bayag Militar to the real world: It’s right in your very face.Â

The administration lacks the ability to govern. Your president lacks discernment. He cannot even make a stand as a real man or head of state representing 100M Filipinos on a simple matter such as allowing or blocking Bong Bong Marcos’ appeal to let his late father, strongman Ferdinand Marcos who was also the dictator of RP for more or less 2 decades. Instead, he passed onto his VP–Bingay– the burden of making the decision which is supposedly his discretion.Â

His argument? He does not want to taint himself with bias or be pigeonholed as prejudicial! Come on! He should make a decision as a head of state/president of the republic and not as a son of a murdered senator.

Gosh, each day is a road leading to darkness. I thought Estrada’s regime was the dark age of the country. Little did I know there is a darker period coming. And to think that we still have 5 more years of bloopers, mistakes, and to borrow the word of kickapoo, gaffes.Â

We had ten years with a president corrupt as they come, and ruthless as they come.

Your statement above is another demonization. You must practice what you preach. Similar to what happened with Marcos, the Aquino family has been accusing GMA of corruption and evil deeds but so far, no charges have been laid against her or any of her cabinet members. They make people believe that everyone else is evil but not them. The sad part is, people like you believe in what they say.

Why did they support GMA to replace Erap if they knew she was an evil woman? Are you saying they are a bad judge of character?

And you also said:

Moreover, the criticism of Aquino here roots from baseless speculation as well. Perhaps the author should look at what the government has done.

What is PNoy doing differently compared to the past administration? Please be specific.

The criticism of PNoy is not baseless. They are based on reports from the mainstream media. Are you saying you donâ€™t read the newspapers or watch the news on TV?

Here are some articles from the media. Please click on the link and read them so you can be up to speed with what is happening with PNOy:

Right. Okay, first, exchanging insults, or at least posts with too much bravado in them, on the internet is just plain unproductive, inefficient, and hurtful. We should admit that we are here to engage in a productive discussion, can’t we agree on that, at the very least? Because if we can’t, then there really is no point.Â

First, the fact of the matter is that the presidency brings with it an enormous amount of responsibility–for each point you bring up, for each example of what you deem a “gaffe,” there is an explanation, some of them good, some of them you can rightfully blame on our president, some of them he, as president, did not have direct control over. The FOI and the RH Bill I can admit as negatives, I suppose. The Porsche is not a good PR move on his part, but really, the word Porsche just rolls off the tongue really nicely, unique twang that it is compared to the ole “corruption in the military,” which cost, at the very least, Php300 million of taxpayer money–this happened under the nose of our former administration, mind you. And, well, the Porsche cost all of a reported Php4 million. Yes, it is a minor issue, but it’s a minor issue that sprung out of sensationalism and I wish it didn’t get the time of day it’s gotten so far, as compared to things that actually matter.Â

Rising prices I will defend to death. We’ve been Manila-centric for far too long. Taxpayers are paying billions yearly for the MRT/LRT, exclusively Metro Manila services, and here we are, ManileÃ±os that we are, making noise over an unjust arrangement ending.

There are also non-counterpoints that I would like to add. Crackdowns on corruption, Conditional Cash Transfers, Budget Increases in the right places, contracts with the private sector both extended and new, but perhaps the burden of illuminating yourselves should rest on your own shoulders.

Sometimes the problem with an electronic medium is that we drift toward a strong tendency for confirmation bias due to the amount of sources available. Â But under a president that you believe is pork barreling his way to political safety, it seems as though he’s forgotten to hand some cold cash to the media, which is renowned for treating its political employers softly. Critical people would do well to refer to alternative sources, or even better, direct sources, and do their own discerning.Â

Also, a special note: Last thing I want to do is demonize GMA, but I suppose if it isn’t obvious to you that she was terrible to our people, then we’re wasting our time arguing. But I am glad that you admitted to demonizing the Aquinos.Â

A final word: Let me be the first to say that I don’t really expect to reach an agreement here. But it is surprising how big a response my original reply elicited. So many people with plenty of spare time on their hands, I suppose, and same with me. The minutes we have lost here are gone forever with no concrete gain for us or for the Filipino people. Perhaps if there’s one thing we can agree on, it’s that there is too much typing in this country, and perhaps there is somewhere else we must all be–out there working for our respective convictions.Â

This is not a waste of time especially if there are many of your lot are out there in need of enlightenment. 🙂

The porsche is a minor issue to you? Wow. You indeed have the balls to say that huh? Such decision bespeaks of a leader having the least compassion for his constituents. How could he stomach purchasing a car worth of millions when there are more than hundreds of millions of Filipinos who call it a night with barely fillings in their stomach? Is he presenting a good example to his followers, to the masses who voted for him?

Please.

But then let’s indulge deeper. No president is a saint. That’s for certain. But since he has occupied the position as the president, what can he be proud of?

And yes, the military corruption is a serious matter. But what did he do? Maybe you should the blogs on that topic too. Here are some useful and educational links for you:

Sometimes, the problem with an electronic medium is that with so much resources available, many failed to use their discernment in making a sound judgment. Wouldn’t you agree with me on this? 😉

If only the president did just one wise decision that would benefit the entire country, all bloggers of AP will not hesitate to congratulate him. But as of this writing, there’s none that the president has done so far as to represent the general welfare, the general interest.Â

Did the porsche purchase benefit the masses?

If only he could be competent and deliver his promises, nonsensical or sensible.

If only he could make a decision befitting of a head of state, nobody would criticize or demonize him.

NO, we cannot reach an agreement here, not even halfway to that because your mind is just far out. 🙂

And oh by the way Bayag Militar, the prices that are escalating are indeed not new. Nonetheless, we, I in particular, did not see it coming quickly like a quick sand where Filipinos are drowned in way, way, below the line poverty. The prices are already high, yes, but with his administration, they have since been soaring extremely higher than before. 🙁

Shouldn’t the economic conditions be soaring high than the prices of commodities? Just thinking aloud, though. :)Â

Right. Okay, first, exchanging insults, or at least posts with too much bravado in them, on the internet is just plain unproductive, inefficient, and hurtful.

You have to stop demonizing other people. Where are the insults and bravado you are talking about from our end? You are trying unsuccessfully to deflect attention from the subject matter.

But I am glad that you admitted to demonizing the Aquinos.

Duh?!? When and where did you see this? Of course thatâ€™s just another lame attempt of yours to divert attention from your own lame excuses.

First, the fact of the matter is that the presidency brings with it an enormous amount of responsibility.

Yes. And PNoy is not qualified to handle the responsibility. He should have been honest enough to admit this before the election.

for each point you bring up, for each example of what you deem a â€œgaffe,â€ there is an explanation,

Wow! GMA can also say this about the allegations of corruption against her!

to the ole â€œcorruption in the military,â€ which cost, at the very least, Php300 million of taxpayer moneyâ€“this happened under the nose of our former administration, mind you

It was happening even before GMAâ€™s term. Are you really sure that she was aware that some Generals of the AFP were syphoning funds into their pockets? Do you have your own â€œsurpriseâ€ witness to attest to this?

There are also non-counterpoints that I would like to add. Crackdowns on corruption, Conditional Cash Transfers, Budget Increases in the right places, contracts with the private sector both extended and new, but perhaps the burden of illuminating yourselves should rest on your own shoulders.

Nothing groundbreaking. Most of his actions were already initiated by his mother and other previous administrations but unfortunately, without much follow through.

How about economic reforms? How will he improve our dependence on the remittance of OFWs? At the moment our economy is highly dependent on them, which is why Binay and Roxas are busy trying to beg for mercy from Taiwan and China.

the problem with noynoy is that he projected himself before the election as THE ONE: the one who is clean, incorruptible, “simple”, with moral ascendance, etc. (fill in the blank) …and everyone else is just plain EVIL. Â he kept harping that he has the solution to the Â problems of our country. Â he was short of saying that i am the messiah and i will save you all from eternal damnation. Â then he gets sworn in and he whines and tells people to give him time and that he is only human blah blah blah…ano ba talaga? Â the only thing he is good at is taking credit for the achievements of the past administrations and putting blame on the same people when he makes those blunders. Â why doesn’t anybody from the 3-headed hydra tell him that campaign is over and he is now responsible for everything that happens in the gov’t?

as far as demonizing goes, to noynoy and his liberal party-abscbn cohorts, this practice is second-nature to them. Â they can even lie with a straight face because they know that anything that comes out of their orifices, especially the “very popular” (well, according to surveys owned by his friends and relatives) bachelor prez, will be lapped up by their yellow masses.

that is my issue with noynoy. Â and really, his whining is annoying the hell outta me.

I’m sorry Ilda. I have promised myself that I won’t make any comments on your blogs na but, call it stubbornness. This is a habit I refuse to resist, particularly that it concerns the yellow King.

I just read your blog now. But I haven’t finished it yet because something caught my attention with your paragraph, which I quoted below:Â

“PNoy was so popular in the lead up to the presidential election owing to his own parentsâ€™ popularity that the election might as well have been a â€œmockâ€ election.”

Admittedly, I wished for G1bo to have won the elections despite the losing campaign he had. My best friend though supported for Erap because first, she is a tactical voter, and second because she saw something she believes had benefited the masses, the farmers to be specific.

Now in line with this, both of us were appalled by the initial results of the elections. It was already the evening of May 10. To her dismay, she wrote an essay expressing her anguish. I published her note on FaceBook, but please, allow me to share it with your readers here too. ( I’ll continue reading your blog, thereafter. ^_~

( Noy Noy is winning the 2010 race. I never really read the news since day one of the campaign. I tried to be distant from current events. But now, I feel like bursting over this issue. This is my first and only time to share my convictions about 2010 presidential elections. You might say â€˜too lateâ€™ but I want to express how this turnout makes me feel. Still, no offense to Noyâ€™s voters â€“ failure of elections is nothing new in this country. FAB)
—

The 2010 Presidential Elections Turnout: Yearning for a Hero and Divine Intervention

Benigno Simeon â€œNoy Noyâ€ C. Aquino, more known now as Noy Noy is leading the presidential race as of midnight of May 10, 2010.

Noy Noy sounds close to Ninoy. But of course, Noy Noy is the son of Ninoy. The name Aquino is the last name of two Philippine heroes of this century. One died in August 21, 1983. Ninoy was a would-be hero, one who would have challenged years of authoritarian Marcos presidency. We commemorate his martyrdom every year as a non-working holiday. The other Aquino was of course his wife. With her husband gone, she was the peopleâ€™s only hope. She led the people power revolution which overthrew the Marcos administration and became president. A lovely story.

Anyway, she would since then be always associated with her yellow suits and the religious community of Catholics. On Mrs. Aquinoâ€™s death, the yellow ribbon made a good statement â€“ it symbolized the people power that supposedly delivered the country from a dictator, and the favor God gave to such a prayerful community, bloodless revolution. Today the yellow ribbon hangs everywhere. However, it does not anymore refer to Mrs. Aquino alone, but as part of the electoral campaign for Noy Noyâ€™s presidency.

When people see the face and color of Noy Noy, they do not see Benigno Simeon Aquino: they see genealogy and divinity at once. Whose father died for the love of the country. Whose mother led EDSA revolution. Whose mother was a president who held the Holy Rosary almost all the time, and received late Bishop Cardinal Sinâ€™s blessings when she made decisions as head of state.

How effective are Noy Noyâ€™s campaign paraphernalia? The yellow ribbon: very quick symbol of her motherâ€™s legacy and the lives the 1986 people power touched. The portrait posters of him wearing eyeglasses: he is the martyrâ€™s son. The bold and capitalized words AQUINO: thatâ€™s just it, he will live up to the legend.

So, no. When we see Noy Noy, we donâ€™t see a man who has yet to gain actual experience on governance (casting a yes or no on bills in congress is no substitute for implementing laws and providing local leadership), economies, or peace building. When we see Noy Noy, we see what weâ€™re yearning for: his heroic and presidential bloodline, and perhaps, access to divinity.

I pray as part of my spiritual journey. I call on God to keep my loved ones safe, give them peace in their hearts, and bring out the collective goodness of humankind. But I need a president who can run a government, implement reforms, and ensure the delivery of basic social services. I need a leader who can talk about peace and how this is closely related to land tenure and ownership. Noy Noyâ€™s spiel endorsing his senatorial slate in the Liberal Party is very telling: kelangan ko sila. The point is behind the line. I wish the majority of us who voted did not long for heroes. I wish we opted for that one person who knows.

Moving on, I wonder when the days of enchantment with heroes and legends will be over. It dawned on me, as I lament the victory of Noy Noy, that the success of our national elections does not rely on the process being manual or automated. It lies in us, through our mindsets and ability to filter which of the messages and sensations bombarded to us are important and unimportant. I really am wondering how many of us have a clear idea of what to expect from Noy Noy? The passage of his many pending bills? The reincarnation of Ninoyâ€™s spirit into his only sonâ€™s?

At first I wanted to vote for Villar or Gibo. I changed my mind after realizing they could not come close to Noy Noyâ€™s lead. The only person I believed could keep a good fight today was Erap. Erapâ€™s platform is laudable, just like Villarâ€™s or Giboâ€™s. His pro-poor programs aired the voice of the masses, the indigenous peoples, and the upland dwellers. This was the voice the poll surveys could not record but could very well manipulate. Poll survey results were training peopleâ€™s minds to accept that the favored candidate was Noy Noy. This made the middle and upper middle class environment a fertile ground for feeding messages that would convince people to go for the â€˜betterâ€™ alternative.

I voted for Erap because while my educational achievement could discuss reforms and policies the government needed to push our economy forward, I realized the real needs are those of the masses. No president since Ferdinand Marcos was able to go down to the poorest of the poor and be one with their sentiments and simple dreams. We should not overlook that Erap marched his way up from being mayor to a senator. He aligned his advocacy along the needs of the underprivileged. ERAP para sa Mahirap, sounds corny but you could probably ask the foundation how many poor students it supported to finish college, especially in Mindanao. The Irrigation Law (RA 6978), which he authored in 1991, set realistic targets and addressed real needs of farmers.

I wasnâ€™t yearning for a hero or divine intervention. I only hoped for something that I already know can work. I would rather believe in a man who has made mistakes but rises up to the challenge of proving he has so much more to offer, than in someone who thinks because of his bloodline, he is destined to become the next president.

Letâ€™s not demonize each other, and letâ€™s allow our president to build what he envisions for this country.

So if the president envisions destruction, trash dumps, filthy rivers, rising prices, bad foreign relations and same old infrastructure, you will let him build just that? And in terms of ‘baseless speculation in regards to Aquino Admin’, get your head out of the yellow media tube and read in between the lines.Â

Right. Okay, first, exchanging insults, or at least posts with too much bravado in them, on the internet is just plain unproductive, inefficient, and hurtful. We should admit that we are here to engage in a productive discussion, canâ€™t we agree on that, at the very least

To clarify, I didn’t see any of this ‘bravado’ you are claiming off. The responses you got are pretty spot on and if you can’t deal with it, that is your problem. I didn’t see any demonstration of this to be inefficient or hurtful at all either.Â

some of them you can rightfully blame on our president, some of them he, as president, did not have direct control over.

Maybe it is you who doesn’t understand the kind of responsibility a leader is suppose to entail. If you think the current president is handling it, you are dead wrong. The Porsche isn’t just something bad for PR more than it is breaking his total image of living with means and its inefficiency altogether as his role as the country’s leader. Then there was his lack of diplomatic touch during critical evens like terrorist bus incident and the hostage incident in Quirino Grandstand, along with his monumental share on the pork barrel. If you can’t see the logic why trying to defend him as a decent leader despite these gaffes, you got comprehension issues.Â

it seems as though heâ€™s forgotten to hand some cold cash to the media, which

You rather forget that the Lopez’s thrived under Cory’s rule. When Marcos took over, they went away from the country for specific reasons. Upon Cory’s rule, they were able grow ABS-CBN to what it is now, as well as their other private businesses of canning goods and beer, which the other oligarchs have also benefited from. If anything, Noynoy doesn’t need to pay off the media considering that IS his own PR machine.Â

But I am glad that you admitted to demonizing the Aquinos.

As opposed to straight up worshiping them as saviors of the Philippine democracy like they wanted to be known as to the public for over 25 years? Just because the author is coming straight with what really happens doesn’t mean she is demonizing them, or however you want to refer to it. Problem is without electronic media, everyone would still believe in these hoaxes and exaggerations that are brought on by the oligarch media players. Only a few would dare question, read more into it and contest that claim.Â

In terms of your theory on defending rising prices, it holds some substance. However that doesn’t mean the government can’t do programs to counter it, or fix long term issues that RELATE TO THAT! Especially when you get to real bare necessities like food. And more so when the President claimed for some form of transparency but aren’t seeing as to why these things are necessary, as to try pattern Obama apparently.Â

This B. Militar guy wants us to take him seriously but he used an alternick that I can’t even write down because I find it too vulgar. And then he even has the nerve to accuse us of being insulting and hurtful. What a hyphocrite!

funny, the president has been demonizing other people since he started serving. goodness, he even did the demonizing a few months before June, 2010 when he incited his followers to take the streets and do a revolution like in Thailand if he did not win the election. worse, he even opined that if the revolution happened, it would be worse. now where was the cheating? where was his revolution? how worse was it if it did not happen? the mouth has its own brain.

FACE IT… The Democracy most ignorant fools fought in the streets of EDSA were a FAILURE. That foolish event were meant only for those people who hated APO. They used Cory to bring down APO, they used the People to shelter against APO. Communists seen an opportunity to take sides with the people and drive APO away, this is for them to continue their movement. Renegade soldiers used the church to call the people and take shelter from their military crimes. Businessmen used the people to kick APO away so they can take back all of their properties in which APO controlled for the common good of the country. Politicians used the people to push APO away, so as they can finally get hold on the government and start corruption all the way…They have brainwashed the people and used for their so called democracy. Democracy to do what they want and take what they want with no one to stop them. During APO’s time, everyone is afraid with the government. There is only one master. But now, corruptions are everywhere. From a simple tanod to a brgy. captain, a simple teacher to a govt. official, even media (payola) and so on and so on.. That is the democracy those fools were talkin of. Freedom to commit injustice. Marcos did sacrificed some during his rule, but come to think of it, its for the common good of the MAJORITY. Nowadays its HOPELESS: The debt of the Philippines as of 2010 is about $59.77Billion. From $27Billion at the time Marcos fled to $59.77Billion of 2010. It got WORSEN by the suceeding administrations. Pamana daw ni APO ay utang, but the real truth is that all suceeding governments were so corrupt (more corrupt than APO) that they FORGET to pay back those debts. They got really excited for being greedy and selfish. “NASAN pala ang mga KINITA ng mga naunang projects ni Makoy?” BINULSA LANG kasi at HINDI PINAMBAYAD, Bagkus UMUTANG PA ULI. Imagine the LRT for example, up to now is in debt. Where are the road taxes go? Surely onto somebody’s pocket. Its CLEAR…Its HOPELESS…Just be real people. FACE IT!

I am living in Singapore for a long time and dito parang na i-in-your -face sakin yung MALAKING kaibahan ng PH at SG….nakakainggit, at nakakahinayang…..anlayu-layo natin sa kanila….tama si BongBong, PH could have been like SG had Marcos continued to be the president

I agree bro.. PH could be MORE THAN SG or JP. Marcos was suppose to be the key..BUT those ignorant fools (uto-uto) walk the streets of Edsa and declare there own independence. I just wish they all flew to Sabah and from there they continue their so called freedom. If ONLY they leave us (PH) alone together with the Marcos government. Imagine how powerful PH that time, even other countries could not touch Sabah..Now? We are all just like SLAVES..Working away from our families..earning dollars just as PH can survive.

Personally, that’s pointless to me already because a silver anniversary of EDSA proves what in our lives today? It represents supposedly those arguments you mentioned above, but did any of those ever materialized?

Couldn’t we move forward to progress without spending thousands of pesos celebrating EDSA which by each year onwards has lost its essence? The time that the government officials spent in preparation and the money too should have been used for another productive undertaking.

We are thankful for some reasons why EDSA had to happen. But that did not give valid ground to commemorate it and venerate Cory Aquino because nothing good happened thereafter. Cory was not a successful leader of the republic. The Hacienda LUisita is a perfect example. Then there were uprisings from rebels (NPA).

Going on an offshoot, Word of the Lourd had something awhile back regarding Rizal Day and how people don’t give it much meaning, or even have twisted what Rizal means to them. If anything, EDSA is franchised soley by Aquino and her Oligarch friends simply because they made the most out of it. If they want to celebrate it, let them do it themselves like one giant Bohemian Grove festival. The money K.izmet said could be used for something better, and I’m not sure if that is tax money either (I’m thinking it is, since why would they have the gaul to spend selfishly on something that means more to them than the whole pinoy people, especially those who really didn’t give 2 horns and a mule about Manila politics :P). To Manilenos or General area Luzonites, it means something because the action was there. To everyone else who wasn’t within that vicinity, it was probably brouhaha.

@Jay:
Â
Kulang na lang, they’d canonize the late couple, Cory and Benigno. One of them is categorized hero through martyrdom, yes. But neither is God nor Saint. NoyNoy and his minions act as if he (P-Noy) deserves the attention alloted to him.

Parang deities ang turing nila sa Aquino family and to think they fall short of the qualities of the heroes in Spanish colonization or of the supposed modern day heroes.

I know and he’s got an anti-PGMA streak as well, for all the wrong reasons.

My point is that people seem to have forgotten, misplaced or ignored Rizal’s legacy, much less legacy of Marcos in a positive light because they don’t get any media attention (of course). The Aquinos are now considered deities in the Philippines by overrating them and through their own personal PR company. Though I am curious since there is that concept about familiarity breeding contempt in regards to people and Rizal. I guess its because EDSA 1 came about like a myth with so much exaggeration regarding what happened before, during and the aftermath of the event. Plus the event has had more share of subjectivity than anything objective.

I keep saying this. Nothing will change. Corruption yesterday, corruption today, corruption tomorrow. The only way to rid this system is if the corrupt actually got killed. As long as the weed is planted, the Filipino manure population will help sustain its growth. We Filipinos, the majority of idiotic gardeners who trim and manicure the corrupt weeds to world-class perfection, will never harvest the fruits of the oligarchs.
So, with that said, Filipinos only have two options: CULTIVATE CORRUPTION OR KILL CORRUPTION. Since Filipinos are too stupid, gullible and duwag, I will use common sense to just go with the flow and side with cultivating corruption, I have a better chance picking apples falling off the truck of the oligarchs. Are Filipinos worth dying for? I think that should be rephrased: Are fools worth dying for? So, I am voting for Marcos in 2016! That weed needs watering. The Aquino side is already green.

If everyone harbors an attitude like yours, then certainly, we’re heading nowhere. No offense.

How can you kill corruption without enlightenment of these masses, the victims that are the Filipinos themselves? Did you really mean to say that they perform collective banzai or seppuku when you say to kill corruption as opposingly the best way to do it is to equip people with wisdom?

Without conviction driven with proper wisdom, a person merely follows a public opinion.

The yellow Aquino is turning green? I doubt that; he’s turning yellower, to the point of withering.

Well Said Pugot…I like your point of view…..before evenÂ steppingÂ out of your home for aÂ revolutionÂ , people must doÂ at leastÂ one hour of research..think long term…they just shuffle the cards and put another tyrant in power, while the people get another round of misery.

And it has been tested again and again ..and I’m not even from PH, but i visited many countries and see the same pattern everywhere….there is no hope in revolutions…they just re-cycle the trash

I have been lucky, to visit the Shrine of the Valkyrie Plotters in Germany. Read some good articles about the plotters. It was lead by a German Hero, named : Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg. He planted a bomb in a suitcase, under the table of Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, it did not kill Hitler..
Almost 700 German conspirators were tortured and killed by the Nazis, because of the plot.
One of the sons of the conspirators stated: “My father believed; that unless the German people, can look directly into the mirror; and see themselves in their core of their humanity. That they are not scoundrels, but humane human beings…Germany will never rise from this war.Look at Germany now… My father’s sacrifice was not in vain.”
These were true German Patriots, giving their lives for the German noble cause…to salvage some sense of humanity, in the midst of German Nazi madness: the War and the Holocaust…
Unless, we Filipinos look upon ourselves; who we really are; to live in our World of Realities; not in a World of Self-Delusions and Make Believe….our country will never prosper; and we cannot exorcise our own Demons…Yellow Horde Nazis, Wake Up!!!

A movie titled: “Valkyrie” was produced by a Jewish Producer and Director, named: Singer. It featured, the American Actor : Tom Cruise, as Col Von Stauffenberg. Shooting locations were where the actual places of the German History, took place…Yes, there were decent people in Nazi Germany; like we have also decent people in our country, in the midst of this Yellow Horde Nazi madness…

i was a very young child during martiial law under marcos and while it had its ups, it also was truly a period of uncertainty for us, discipline thru fear is not exactly the type of discipline that we should aspire. Â be firm, but not breed fear, and if we filipinos could only learn to accept our faults, then we can teach ourselves to be the decent human beings we might actually be capable of doing. Â

so i am not sorry we got rid of marcos. i am just sorry that we became complacent and just basked in the adulation of the global community with our “peaceful revolt”. Â people have forgotten that there is still work to be done. Â so now we see ourselves in the same craphole like before…including having another aquino for a president. Â sigh.

i love your last line: are we celebrating the fall of marcos dictatorship or the rise of the aquino oligarchy. Â i am sure that in these coming years, these words will be more prophetic than we think.

totally, cheers!, more focus on academics. I find it amazing that teachers are allowed to ask kids to contribute for projects throughout term instead of having this allocated from fees. almost monthly there are additional P500 or P1000 but its not spent on academic subjects only wowowee training.

unfortunately, critical thinking is exactly what the yellow media and oligarchs does not want people to learn. Â note, they don’t even want to print “negative” news even if it is the truth. the irony of this is that the y-tards thrived on highlighting the negative to propel them to power…again.Â

[Manila, Philippines] It all really began with the 1983 assassination of Ninoy Aquino. That event set off three years of emotional hysteria that paved the way for Edsa I. Almost three decades later, with the heirs of Edsa I still in control of government and its vast powers, why hasn’t the real culprit behind the assassination been uncovered?

In all that time, allegations that Ferdinand Marcos or those around him masterminded the assassination were simply made to linger. But, as history would show, it was Ninoy himself who dispelled the Marcos angle.

In an interview with US magazine Mother Jones in January 1983, when asked about “What do you think Marcos will do?”? Aquino said: “He will keep me alive, because he knows the moment I die, I am a martyr, like Martin Luther King, and he wouldn’t want that. Another possibility, he lets me out, and the communists knock me off. They blame Marcos. They have a martyr and they have eliminated a stumbling block.”?

Similarly, notwithstanding the self-serving claims of Edsa I stars such as Corazon Aquino, her Yellow coterie, Juan Ponce-Enrile, and Fidel Ramos, or the belief of some who simply promenaded at Edsa (but who now claim that they were there to fight “the evil Marcos”?), there are other claimants whose stories mainstream spinmasters and media would rather not discuss.

One of these comes from former US Secretary of State George Schultz. In a recent article on Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), writer Michael Billington narrates how Schultz bragged in his autobiography Turmoil and Triumph: My Years as Secretary of State, that the 1986 “people power”? was their brainchild and was cooked behind the back of Marcos admirer Ronald Reagan. Shultz was, for all intents and purposes, coordinating this project with the US State Department.

In my past articles on the subject, I have also quoted Foreign Policy magazine: “In his Heritage speech (Paul) Wolfowitz (former US Secretary of State) also took credit for the downfall of Marcos. The “Ëœprivate and public pressure on Marcos to reform,’ he asserted, “Ëœcontributed in no small measure to emboldening the Philippine people to take their fate in their own hands and to produce what eventually became the first great democratic transformation in Asia in the 1980s.'”?

Those “pressures”? included currency attacks (such as the peso’s 20-percent devaluation); moves by AIG chief Maurice “Hank”? Greenberg’s agents like Jobo Fernandez to push interest rates up to 45 percent; the cutting of US aid for the military bases to a third and channeling it through Cardinal Sin instead of the government; the demonization of Marcos in US and international media; and the set-up where Marcos was prodded by Nightline anchor Ted Koppel to commit to a “snap election.”?

The EIR’s Michael Billington continues: “By November (1985), the plans for insurrection were unveiled publicly, as the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the home of Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski, carried out a “Ëœwar game’ against the Philippines, based on a scenario in which President Marcos is assassinated, Soviet “Ëœspetsnaz’ commandos join the New People’s Army in taking over the Philippines, and the US military goes into action to “Ëœsave’ the country. The CSIS’ work in Asia was largely financed at that time by the CV Starr insurance empire run by Maurice “ËœHank’ Greenberg. Greenberg and CV Starr owned most of the insurance industry in the Philippines (PhilamLife), and a number of Philippine politicians as well, and served as the crucial “Ëœon the ground’ economic hit man in the Marcos coup”Â¦

“The Aug. 16 (1985) EIR published a story entitled “ËœPlotting the Fall of an American Ally,’ which reported that US Ambassador (Stephen) Bosworth was plotting a military coup against the Marcos government: “ËœBosworth now meets up to two hours every day with acting Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, a West Point graduate whom the United States is attempting to groom as a leader of a new civilian-military junta, despite his loyalty to President Marcos.’ The story was based on information from reliable sources both in the Philippines and in Washington, where certain patriotic layers within the government, intelligence, and the military did not accept America’s transformation into an imperial power serving the synarchist (banking cartel) financial interests.”?

Meanwhile, the rabble in the streets was being roused by the August Twenty-One Movement (Atom), which, Linggoy Alcuaz attests, got free gasoline from all of Ayala’s Shell stations for motorcades, rallies, etc.

The end result of Edsa I was the reversal of the National Development Program for the Philippines “”supplanted with liberalization, globalization, deregulation and privatization. Infrastructure and industrialization programs were stopped and deconstruction of the economic infrastructure commenced. Food self-sufficiency was replaced with a permanent import-dependent policy. Fuel and energy for progress got converted for profit while water and anti-flood projects got canceled, resulting in today’s deadly “Ondoy”? deluge.

A growing economic democracy was forcibly returned to a state of plutocracy. Yet, despite the lie of “democracy’s restoration”? a thousand times told, despite a diminishing handful of hakot crowds that are brought to Edsa rites, the hunger, poverty, and demoralization that stalk poor and middle class Filipinos 24 years after that fateful event brings out the stark truth –that Edsa I was, in fact, an anti-democratic counter-revolution!

Contrary to Fidel Ramos’ pompous claim that Edsa belongs to no one, it really belongs to the US neo-cons and Pinoy oligarchs. Despite Joe Almonte’s claim that Edsa had made RP the “leader in global democratic movements,”? it has only made us the prime victim and example of the global plutocracy’s impoverishment. And just like Ukraine’s Orange Revolution was recently thrown out, that wretched counter-revolution by the Yellow elite must also now be put asunder.

As I said in my article “If you ask several people what they remember about Marcos or the Edsa revolution, they will give you several versions of what actually occured. But of course, we all know the media plays out only one version â€“ that Marcos was the big bad bogeyman that had to go.

It was the start, where the Oligarchs” Media bombarded our Minds , subliminally with “Wowoowees” . Kris Aquino, went on rampage to change from one husband, or live-in, to another. The Roman Catholic Church was amenable to her being a Model Whore, for young Filipinos. We adored Actors and Actresses, that we voted them as our Political Leaders. Our minds were so corrupted, that our young children, danced and is still singing to; “Wowoowee”; ” Giling-Giling”; ” Igiling mo, Baby. We are now so anesthesized that: people are multiplying like Rabbits…producing more Filipino OFW slaves; to earn foreign currency; and to prevent our country from going to bankruptcy…

Thanks Blackhat!
Marcos was already physically sick before Edsa 1. He would have died a natural death soon anyway even if he werenâ€™t ousted. I suppose the coup plotters just could not wait any longer.

they say only the winners get to write history. And that is why American side of WW2 isn’t necessarily great (considering they didn’t want in to begin with), compared to looking it at the perspective of Germany and Europe. Hell, Japan has long erased their history of that event in their school textbooks.

Don’t forget that there was only TV and radio back in 1986. With the advent of social media, the international community is more in your face now but that hasn’t stopped Mubarak of Egypt and Gaddafi of Libya from resorting to violence in order to silence the protesters in their respective countries.

It was done by an NPA Sparrow Unit; with complicity, with a higher-up in the AFP. Ask one of those soldiers, who was the “handler” of Galman…the (Right ) from the AFP ; Political Opportunists, in tandem to the NPA (left)…the Roman Catholic Church, were also involved. Look at that Father Balweg, who was an NPA Commander. Liberation Theology was then in vogue in the Roman Catholic Church Doctrine…
Ask this question: Who were the beneficiaries of the EDSA uprising? See those people who profited from it…

Do not believe that the Roman Catholic Church was all saintly…There were many dark sides in its history.
There was a Pope, named Alexander, who fathered many illegitimate children. This Pope Alexander had even an incestous relationship, with his daughter: Lucrecia. When his daughter, took a lover. This Pope ordered, the daughter’s lover to be murdered, at the stairs of the Vatican Palace…

i agree with you that things are not what they seem. there are pros and cons of what happened. i still believe though, that it was better that it happened, than have the dictator stay on for much longer.

No there is no real pro or con to it. Just people who don’t understand politics as a whole and instead, default to emo-politics. The fact remains however is that the dictatorship you claim was bad is not so, but it certainly was tiring. Also is the fact that the new democracy established wasn’t as great as the media, church and whoever benefited from it (namely Cory and her cronies) make it out to be.

Marcos in his time established many public works and services that even you still use to this day. If his nuclear power plant was implemented correctly, your electric bill would not be much of an issue. Under Cory, ABS-CBN rose to the kind of media company it is now, plus a bunch of other canning and beer packing industries.

Both systems still don’t promote the flexibility needed to seek out long term changes that would benefit a nation.

Any good Writer from the Philippines?…You can write a good Novel from it…Truth indeed is stranger than Fiction….Only in the Philippines…so many Bad Characters involved…the Filipino people were just taken for a ride….

The Aquino’s were never good person’s they were used by the american’s to get THE PHILIPPINES down from it’s heights PHILIPPINES was once the second most powerful country in asia and our armed forces was once the most powerful we were a very famous country back in those days we were being watched by economists because our economy was dynamic,booming and fast we were at those times a POTENTIAL FIRST WORLD COUNTRY.Feared by our ASIAN NEIGHBORS malaysia,thailand and even the new future superpower CHINA remember when marcos wanted sabah back malaysia was in deep fears that our country might attack them in no time just to get the island.It was also in marcos’es time when the SPRATLY’s was discovered by a filipino documents that would support our ownership to the island were being finalized those times but weren’t finish because of this AQUINO WIDOW just what came to this filipinos mind to protest the MARCOSES were already wealthy even before the day MARCOS SAT as the new president.Before becoming the PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT MARCOS was a SENATE PRESIDENT and an active LAWYER his a BAR TOPNOTCHER of UP (which in those times was one of the brillian UNIVERSITY IN ASIA because our country once had the BEST EDUCATION SYSTEM IN ASIA even before MARCOS SAT AS THE PRESIDENT).Why judge MARCOS by what the media (people’s who are under a job of brainwashing people’s) says for your information the MEDIA was arrested in MARCOSES TIME by being BIAS on agreeing to the OPPOSITION wherein yours truly “L” (Laban) sign flasher’s beloved NINOY AQUINO who proved nothing and just wanted to become a president also by words just like his SON PNOY and her WIDOW CORY.Marcos did the most infrastructural,cultural,transportation,economic and health projects for the FILIPINOS as a PRESIDENT he proposed to build the following: LIVER CENTER,KIDNEY CENTER,HEART CENTER,LUNG CENTER, PHILIPPINE CULTURAL CENTER,SARAO (which only turned into jeepneys when CORY took place marcos planned to make it a CAR BRAND BORN IN THE PHILIPPINES,SAN NICOLAS BRIDGE (once the longest bridge in the whole of SOUTHEAST ASIA),LRT (FIRST RAILWAY TRANSIT in the whole of SOUTHEAST ASIA),SLEX & NLEX.Even the explorations of natural reserves such as just like what i have said SABAH,SPRATLY ISLAND’S AND EVEN THE GREAT DEUTERIUM which is under the PHILIPPINE DEEPS (touted as the new OIL of the new GENERATION a special mineral which can be used to run a CAR and even for cooking because it doesn’t produce any type of pollution.Before MARCOS SAT AS THE PRESIDENT he already stated that he is willing to share his WEALTH to his COUNTRYMAN so why in the first place PROTEST to a great PRESIDENT GOD ALREADY GAVE AS A GREAT PRESIDENT BUT WE WERE THE ONE’s WHO REJECTED HIS OFFER specially those people’s who are today wearing yellow also in the past history of this day flashing the “L” (Laban) sign to show their support to people’s who wanted to take over control!!!

I just saw a status from Facebook reposting the quote “from where I am, everyone’s a HERO” . Yeeeck. If considering the 3 convicted drug mules in China, congressman drug user in Hongkong, incompetent police , filthy rich corrupted generals and politicians, a number of the “masa” people who depend on dole-outs while singing Wowowee and drowning in alcohol , and the few elite who uses the media to keep the truth from the people as HEROES, then we’re doomed. A true hero doesn’t desire to even become one.

I was only 2 yrs old when this had happened. I dont even remember if we were taught about edsa revolution at school. maybe it was taught but i did not pay attention because even the history itself doesnt have the truth in it. thanks for this article ilda. at least this blog is not bias. For those who are celebrating Edsa I – – – nothing. i got nothing to say. make sure you know what you are celebrating.

Aha! You don’t hear much about this at school because Philippine history lessons always take too long on the Colonial part. By the time 1986 is reached, IF the lessons even reach that part, the teachers are on a hurry to finish the term.

The truth about the 1986 People Power Revolution is that it was unprecedented. Nobody at the time saw it coming, not the participants themselves and definitely not the foreign media. Can we stop feeling the need for validation from foreign media already?

I’m proud I saw these events, and that I was part of it. I’m still doing my part to help build this democracy. Its so easy to criticize and complain. Do something concrete and real for a change.

Validation is always best coming from third parties. That is why we have external auditors. Even doctors go and see other doctors for their own personal healthcare. Self-diagnosis can be fatal at times. How can Filipinos calling their own “revolution” the greatest thing since indoor plumbing be credible? 😀

The truth about the 1986 People Power Revolution is that it was unprecedented.

Being trendy doesn’t mean being efficient. Ever thought of that? Its actually harder to criticize than it is to complain because one needs to know their facts to do the former, than to pine in on their opinions like the latter. Besides, why is criticism being looked down on when its one of the things that can be done in order to make an effective democracy?

“People power revolutions have always been around. Itâ€™s not something unique to Filipinos. Filipinos cannot claim ownership over the concept. Who can forget the mob that toppled Marie Antoinette in France in the 17th century? At least that one resulted in the decadent monarchâ€™s beheading. The Philippine revolution though widely regarded as peaceful, bizarrely enough, did not result in the conviction of the alleged corrupt public officials under the Marcos regime. Even more disturbing is that, for all the grandstanding done by the opposition in accusing the past administration for their shortfall, Marcos successors failed to build the strong enough institutions needed to sustain real democracy.”

If you think about it, had it been a bloody revolution, there would not have been an Edsa 2 & 3. Since it became simply just a gathering of people on the streets, they got addicted to the fiesta atmosphere.

Ok. So you are proud of People Power – good for you. 25 years later, there’s very little progress that we can be proud of though.

As to your request to “stop feeling the need for validation from foreign media;” Do you have some kind of xenophobia or something? Where do you want me to get validation? The Inquirer? Sorry but they are allegedly pro-Aquino. How about the Manila Standard? Nope, they are allegedly too anti-PNoy. As you can see, the international media cannot be accused of any biased for and against any politician, which means it makes more sense to rely on their views.

@ilda
Who profited from the EDSA revolution? What have we, ordinary Filipinos got from the EDSA revolution? Are we all living better? Where do the new leadership taking us?
If we Demonize Marcos and his Martial Law. Who were the Managers of the Martial Law of Marcos? Enrile and Ramos, were managing the Martial Law. Enrile was the Secretary of Defense. Ramos was the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary. Are not these people, as Guilty as Marcos, in making our lives in miseries, then?
Enrile is now the Senate President; and has gotten exceedingly rich, with his son-in-law:Honasan. Ramos became President; and is enjoying his Loot… The Lopezes have full control of the economy and the Media…What has changed?

i would like to add, the Cojuangcos (Peping’s family) are still in control of their Hacienda Luisita. They murdered some of their tenants/slaves, who were Demonstrating against them. Was these Cases of Murders investigated? The tenants/slaves Rights were also Violated. Did they received any compensation, in being murdered? Peping Cojuangco and his family, have gotten Exceedingly Rich…richer than Marcos. Amidst, the poverty of most Filipinos. A large portion of the Filipinos, living around the Filthy Garbage Dumps…the Garbage Dumps, their sole means of livelihood…Is this the EDSA Democracy; they are talking about?

One thing I’ve always wondered – and gotten lots of different answers from – is where/how it wall went wrong during Marcos’ time. Was it martial law? Was it Imelda’s romantic opulence? Was it simply strongman syndrome gone wrong?

He got sidetracked. Don’t forget, when you are a politician, you cannot please everybody. Instead of concentrating on the job at hand, you still have to deal with factions within your party and not to mention you have to deal with put-downs from your rivals. Â I suppose they got sidetracked partying hard too.

Heh. I actually had a history teacher that lamented that the early years of martial law were good for parents because they wouldn’t have to worry about their kids sneaking out late at night to party hard.

But it looks like he got sidetracked with incessant Marxist agitation that led him to Martial Law, not so much his own party politics. Maybe that was a Cold War thing.

On a side note though, it’s this having to focus on “factions within a party” that makes me worry about an (actual) Philippine parliamentary system. It would be too easy for a PM to get sidetracked trying to satisfy people within his system especially when one faction might hold the key to holding a coalition together.

Your worry is not without its merits. You are talking about Pinoys after all. I can’t imagine Filipino politicians dissing one another in parliament like the British or Australians without having to worry about being gunned down once they get out on the streets. I’m sure they will still use under the table settlements when necessary.

the diversion came via the triumvirate of 1) the pressure from the struggle of the communists 2) the wife-politician’s self-serving ambition and 3) the dictator that was marcos as a result of #1 and #2

http://www.rttnews.com/Content/AllEconomicNews.aspx?Node=B2&Id=1561980 The central bank, which is meant to protect US, is in cahoots with the politicians and the rich! Wow the central bank expects inflation to hit 4.4% this year and is f456c8nh OK with that. 4.4% compounded after 5 years means everything will cost 29.48 % more in five years’ time. Shit I need at least a 40% increase in pay to feel like I’m ahead a little. SACK the Bangko Sentral a useless institution too.

Hi Ilda, This is the first article that I’ve read from Anti-Pinoy. I must confess I’m not a fan of emotionally charged opinion pieces. I only read it based a random one based on Orion Dumdum’s site recommendation. You described yourself well, “Agent Provocateur”. You have some good points. I really don’t know where to start as your post jumps across a few separate topics. It was an interesting spin challenging the value of a people-based movement based on the military trigger that started it and the subsequent years of destabilized government. Personally, I think people movements are an “involuntary expression”. Much like the “aargh” when you try to stand up after sitting down in an awkward position for a long time.
Was it worth celebrating? I disagree with your sentiment. I do believe there is something there to celebrate. But I take your point. The fanfare is… ludicrous. I will not argue relative merits of Marcos , CAquino and PNoy’s regimes (that’s a lively dinner conversation with friends), but I do have one last point. I understand your last question was rhetorical. But please be careful with it. The unfair question undermines the value of society’s self-expression upon which blogs like this one is based. There is a third option. Kind regards, Wilbert

what stopped you from going all the way? What is this third option you describe of in regards to the author’s post?

People movements does have merit in a logical and political standpoint, but its honestly no different from your classic angry mob that has occurred years before in Europe and Russia. Especially if in this case, nothing really changed from the former to the latter as a whole. To me, much as you got out of it, is a reflection of the value of the people in their understanding of politics.

I don’t know what “spin” you are talking about. Even Jim Paredes who played a lead role in the “revolution” in 1986 realised that the “people” Â were used by the coup plotters. Haven’t you read the news about their heated exchange on twitter?

Here’s the link for you:Â http://www.gmanews.tv/story/213966

And you said:

I do believe there is something there to celebrate.

You can’t even say what it is. Sounds like you agree with me anyway.

If there is one thing that really strikes me asÂ bizarre, its Da Pinoy’s penchant for writing in riddles. Just get to the point next time.

Yes. Regular folks don’t know what is good for them. They should be guided by genuine “elites” who acquired training and expertise in economics, sociology, humanities, anthropology…etc. The professionals know what is good for the country and its people. Meanwhile, PNoy is not an expert on anything. He is not qualified to lead the nation because he does not have enough training on any given field.

Your article is rejuvenating. I was not yet in existence during the EDSA so all I know about the happenings are all from the one-perspective textbooks and recently, the hype of the country (or should I say, the Greater Manila Area exclusively) about the 25th year of EDSA. It made me curious, having your perspective on Marcos. This is the first time I bumped to this blog and would definitely add this to my reading list.Â

Awakening article indeed 🙂
I think of only 1 thing ‘People Power’ (1 or 2 ) did… that is changing those people who were currently in power. Sounds like a regular election eh
Those uprisings failed and is failing to change the Philippine politics as a whole (specifically current politicians). Â After all these 25 years it is also not much evident that there has been a change in people’s understanding of politics. Â I may even be one of these people 🙁 Â . I believe in recent years I’m gradually shifting from it..thanks to the internet and the likes of you.
I even now have a theory gathered from observations and readings..that Filipinos only respect people of 2 types in comparison to themselves.. 1.) those with more intelligence/wit/smart 2.) those with more money. Many Filipinos tend to give those 2 types of people authority/respect over them … for the mean time at least.
If you are a politician, what would you do in order to remain respected and continue to be in power? Gain more intelligence..or the most effective..gain more wealth.Â
It is my dream that we Filipinos be ruled by those type 1 people who are unfazed by the lure and convenience of type 2s. Â Â Â

Thanks for reading the article. I have to disagree with your item number one though. It is a misconception that Filipinos look up to intelligent people. The reality is actually the opposite of this – Filipinos have become anti-intellectual. PNoy’s win in the last election is proof of this.

It is unfortunate that a lot of Filipinos equate wealth with intelligence. Those who were born into wealth can’t all be considered intelligent.

They only hate intellectuals who are or who may possibly have an inclination to be greedy of money. GMA has been preferred choice before because she has been thought of as smart. Now because it appears that she or her family is shifting to the money side, many Filipinos detested her including her allies. I believe Gibo suffered due to this.Â

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â It is unfortunate that a lot of Filipinos equate wealth with intelligence.

Why? Because wealthy people can send their children to expensive schools. Educated people tend to become or look like intelligent. Talking about good books plus good educators. Â Â Â

I do hope that with the internet becoming commonplace, more and more not so poor Filipinos can become confident, intelligent and informed enough especially now that virtually all information is readily available.Â

Â Â Â Â Â Â Those who were born into wealth canâ€™t all be considered intelligent.
Agree.100%.Â

I read with bemusement the catty exchange between Jim Paredes and Gringo Honasan that was immortalised on Twitter.com last Friday, the 25th February. Imagine two senior citizens of the Republic — both household names and key figures in a “revolution” touted as one that defines Filipinos’ place in history at that — engaged in a tiff of the sort that would draw cheers and hoots the way a mud wrestling match would. Hold that thought and draw a hard association between that and this “spirit” of Edsa that we are supposed to re-visit, and there you have what the whole exercise was really all about.

Thank you for this eye-opening article, ilda. Anyway, PNoy’s presidency wasn’t in vain. Thanks to him being a president and my curiosity, I have now realized how insignificant this “People Power I” and the Aquino family really are. But of course this feeling of being enlightened would not outweigh this feeling of regret and dismay for having an incompetent president backed up by his falsely-heroic parents, rule this country for 5(?) more years. Moving on, I’m glad my suspicion that someone conspired against FMarcos to oust him is true, if my reading comprehension is correct.. I’m also glad that what my grandmother told me was true; about FMarcos not being a bad guy, like what we have been taught in our history class.(She knows a lot since my grandfather served under Marcos during his reign)

Yes, there is a tiny upside to a Noynoy Presidency. Now people like you are enlightened by the truth. The more frustrated the people get with his incompetence, the less apathetic they will feel about the problems of our nation.

I’m okay with celebrating People Power. I was 9 years old then but my parents brought me along when they joined our fellow Filipinos made the stand. It was peaceful and it is really something worth remembering.Â

However, I hate the fact that they associated People Power too much with the Aquinos. Yes, we cannot erase Ninoy and Cory from the equation, but they should not be over glorified either. The ones who should be glorified are the people. The unknown names and faces.Â

I’m very sad with what’s happening to the country today. EDSA was about pagkakaisa. Ngayon kanya kanya. Walang disiplina ang karamihan. Nakakahiya at nakakainis.Â

Let’s continue being vigilant for the development of our country. It is screwed up big time in the government, media, and business level but I still believe that we can make the transformation possible in our level. Let’s fight by being the best we can be in our daily lives. Let’s work hard, be honest, be generous, respect people who are indifferent to us….these things are very doable. Kahit mahihirap kaya gawin ito. Sabi nga “Bastat magkaisa tayong lahat”.Â

I’m a nobody. I’m not even good in writing. All I have is the drive to change for the better. I hope that when we celebrate every February 25, the focus is on the people. After all, it is called People Power, not Aquino power.

well guess who has rights to the people power franchise 😛 Though honestly the facts established about it are pretty vague in as well considering its more of a manila event than one celebrated by the nation as a whole.

The problem with the pagkakaisa is what does it really mean? Unity for what? For fallen heroes or individuals? Or for ideals that will really set a great foundation for a nation to operate in? That is why I don’t believe in pagkaisa more than I believe in true unity since pagkaisa seems more like a double edged sword and simplifying things to turn people into a mad mob than people fighting for what they really should fight for.

This is so interesting. They never told us about any of this back in high school. I don’t know what kind of a president Cory was. I wasn’t alive yet. But I’ve always been told she’s a hero, very religious and untainted by politics and that she led the uprising that toppled a ruthless dictator. And now people are saying her son is exactly like her. This article is a real eye-opener.

Maybe Cory wasn’t all she was cracked up to be, but maybe Marcos wasn’t either. So it’s true then. No matter who’s sitting on top, they’re all the same corrupt and self-serving politicians, just one group replacing the other, then getting replaced themselves. Now, 25 years later, nothing’s changed.

Oh, and I watched a documentary recently on EDSA I and on Ninoy’s assassination. I always thought Marcos was behind the assassination. But they said the real mastermind was actually Ninoy’s own cousin-in-law, Danding Cojuangco.

You guys may already know all this, but all of this info is news to me. Everything I know is now turned upside down. I feel like I’ve been living a lie. 🙁

How to enlighten the people? They must read this. They must know of this too. We’ve all been living a lie.

Not that it matters but whoever killed Ninoy certainly knew the consequences it would bring and move the political chains along that would help propel Cory.

The Philstar article’s take on it is pretty redundant. Though I’m not sure on the hunger and mortality rate considering does that mean those who keep the trend of having bigger families are dying due to not being able to financially support them, especially in a Marcos dictatorship. As dismal at is however, in the question of actually making use of time and money to build something meaningful, his vast infrastructure still stands today, being only used and maintained. He had planned a nuclear plant, which of course didn’t go through. He had also planned other useful infrastructure to be built, only to have no continuity during Cory’s term. That certainly holds true, though the plant issue is interesting but what stands out is that it was never pursued again, as imagine having something like that power most of the country and the price of electricity favors citizens as customers.

As far as I know, Cory’s administration is being overrated of course by the media darlings. Marcos’ reign is being vilified without considering concrete things he has done. And the redundancy of things that occur when you let corruption get over your head, regardless of which. By sifting out the facts and establishing the truths do we enlighten people.

Actually, the article wasn’t written by a PhilStar reporter. It was submitted by a former Martial Law detainee and spokesperson in reaction to BongBong’s claim that the Philippines would have been like another Singapore had EDSA I never happened. Obviously, the guy didn’t take too kindly to the idea.

That nuclear plant is such an awful waste. It could have been used to generate cheap power, but because of politics, our country now has to pay for it. Literally. We have the world’s highest electricity bills. I saw an expert on TV say it would be cheaper to build a new power plant than to rehabilitate the old one. How much was spent on that thing? In the end, all it did was gather dust. Truly a waste of money. It’s like the WOW Philippines slogan. Nothing’s wrong with it, yet P-Noy & his people wanted to change it simply because it’s associated with the previous admin. Never mind that it’s actually doing a good job. Like mother, like son indeed.

I wish the Aquino fans read this article. But will they even believe it?

Suppose that were true GabbyD and if Marcos was anything like Gaddafi or Hitler, he would have gotten rid of that guy immediately and replaced him with someone who would willingly follow his orders. The fact of the matter is, the 1986 so-called “people power” rally only lasted for a few days because Marcos was wise enough to realise that it was futile to try and do anything more to extend his stay in Malacanang.

“Whatever floats my boat” ba? But why are you still insisting on your views though?

Very few of us know that the Aquino-led Marcos opposition and the RAM agreed to form a transition government in the event that the FM was ousted, and that that transition government will be led by Cory Aquino for the first six months and by Doy Laurel for the next months. The oust-Marcos move was made up of Plans A, B, and C. Plan A called for the aborted RAM coup, Plan B called for the installation of Senator Jovito Salonga with the help of the WCC, NCCP, and UCCP, and Plan C called for people power, manipulating the Marxist principle that “religion is the opium of the people”.

i am beginning to unlike this page. reading from all your blogs, it seems wala na talagang matinong pilipino na uupo na presidente sa bansa natin. i can’t understand why some people are now praising marcos being a dictator while 3 decades ago, everyone on the street was against him and want him out of malacanan. we’ve been trough 5 presidents and yet all of them were seen as idiots in all your blog. i am out of here. good luck to all of you. philippines is a disaster, a place i will never ever wish to live if i have a chance.

Maybe the question we should be asking is: Where are we now and what has EDSA done to us? Are we really free from the political Families that once enslaved us? Maybe we should read about the real Ninoy Aquino and the real Cory Aquino, who they are and what their Real ambitions were. I can’t recall the name of that UP professor who did research on Ninoy and his ties with the Leftists like CPP NPA etc. The research he made is a real eye opener. Ninoy is no hero!!!!!!

I get the point. I mean its history and its done.. been there been that.. All we need to is to move on,learn from the past and be a part of what we can do for our country. I know the government has been doing its best to restore back the glory days unfortunately it is not possible. As Bob Marley said ” One Love, One Heart Lets get together and feel alright .. that’s it

I do not know if our family belong to the privileged few, but I felt safer from the military and constabulary during Marcos era than from the military and police now.
I believe that who ever sits in the throne of power, political and economic progress will never reach full steam because of the characteristics we Filipinos have, crab mentality and clannish.
The problem with all those who came after Marcos was that they have no concrete program for the country and the people, except to enrich themselves through illegal means or to remain in power to protect their personal interests. Marcos did the same, enriching and staying in power, but at least we see progressive programs during his term.

“History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books-books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, ‘What is history, but a fable agreed upon?”
― Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code